The subject matter described and/or illustrated herein relates generally to electrical connectors, and more particularly, to the electrical contacts of electrical connectors that are mounted on printed circuits.
Electrical connector systems are commonly used to interconnect electrical components together. For example, electrical connector systems are sometimes used to electrically connect two printed circuits (sometimes referred to as “circuit boards”) together. To interconnect the printed circuits, an electrical connector on one of the printed circuits is mated with an electrical connector on the other printed circuit. As the electrical connectors are mated together, electrical contacts of the connectors engage each other to electrically connect the connectors, and thereby the printed circuits, together.
Some electrical connector systems are used to interconnect two printed circuits that extend parallel to each other. The printed circuits include mating sides that face each other and define a space therebetween. The electrical connectors are mounted on the mating sides of the printed circuits such that the electrical connector system extends between the printed circuits within the space therebetween. It is sometimes desirable to increase the amount of space between the printed circuits, for example to provide more space for electrical components or devices mounted on the mating sides of the printed circuits. A height of the electrical connector system must therefore be increased to bridge the increased amount of space between the printed circuits. In some circumstances, the electrical contacts of the electrical connector system may need to be lengthened to accommodate the overall increased height of the system. But, the increased height of the electrical connector system may make it difficult to maintain the electrical performance thereof. For example, the increased height of the electrical connector system may cause the electrical contacts to experience different impedance than an overall impedance of the system. Moreover, and for example, the increased height of the electrical connector system may cause the electrical contacts to experience more insertion loss, more signal reflection between adjacent electrical contacts, and/or the like.